10 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: against the knowledge of God, all things are become new, anger, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be ye angry and sin not, be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, Bible, bitterness, Casting down imaginations, christianity, climate change, coloured our days, deceitful lusts, endure to the end, every high thing, faith, forgiving one another, given themselves over unto lasciviousness, god, God-given wisdom, greediness, halfway home, hands on the plough, he is a new creature, holy spirit, I will do a new thing, if any man be in Christ, invite Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Christ, long term residents, LOVE, make a way in the wilderness, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, neither give place to the devil, not turning back, now it shall spring forth, old things are passed away, put off the former conversation, put on the new man, remember ye not the former things, rivers in the desert, shadowed our nights, shorts and t-shirts, spring, thank God, that exalteth itself, the blindness of their hearts, the breath of life is still flowing through me, the cellars of fear, the crux of the matter, the neighbourhood of our thoughts, the sun of his love, throw out our old baggage, to a glorious future with Jesus, uncleanness, walk not as other Gentiles walk, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, worrisome thoughts, wrath
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Oh friends, if I didn’t know that we were still officially in the season of spring, I’d believe that today was a grand summer’s day. Yes, this Wednesday, has blossomed bright and sunshiny with temps in the high teens! And people are already out in their shorts and t-shirts. But this temperature is possibly an abnormality, and we will soon revert to true spring time temps. Anyway, who doesn’t like a summer’s day eh, at any time of the year! And with the climate change business making things topsy turvy and eccentric, we’ll take a good day whenever we can, be it spring, summer, winter or fall! (smile)
Now, let’s cool the enthusiasm a tad, with this snippet from the In Touch Devotional for this month, titled ‘Consider This.’ Please read with me: ‘Worrisome thoughts aren’t always intrusive – sometimes they’re long-term residents. In fact, we may not remember a time before they coloured our days and shadowed our nights. What would life be like in their absence? It’s hard to know. And not knowing is one of the most fearful things of all. But when we invite Jesus into the neighbourhood of our thoughts, He speaks gently to our worries – He calls us out of the cellars of fear and into the sun of His LOVE. All we have to do is reach out. And then let Him do what He does: make all things new.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers? Christ makes all things new when we turn to Him, when we entrust our very lives to Him in true surrender. And there’s no better scripture that details that fact than this one from Bruh Paul’s second missive to the Corinthians. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) Yes friends, when we become believers in Christ we need to throw out all our old baggage, for we’ve become new people, and old stuff will tempt us back to our old way of life.
But we must also allow Christ to do new things in us, that He dearly desires to do. It’s like the Lord promised the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah. ‘Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.’ (Is. 43:18-19) And that’s exactly what Christ will do in our lives – make a new and godly person out of us… if we let Him.
It’s also as Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians, re putting on the new man. He writes: ‘This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind. Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through (because of) the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness (licentiousness), to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ (Eph. 4:17-19)
Now that’s how most of us lived before we accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, and it’s how the other unbelievers still live, with hardened hearts and a stubborn will, adhering to fleshly lusts and licentiousness, that’s caused them to be separated from God. And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members of one another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister unto hearers. And grieve not (don’t make sad) the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:20-32)
There you have it my brethren; some valuable practical steps we can all take to put on the new man, and then to keep him on! And keeping him on is the crux of the matter; keeping him on the rest of our earthly lives, because the devil will try mightily to make us go back to our old way of living. Yuh see how Bruh Paul also warned about not giving the evil one an opportunity to get into our heads and thus our hearts. And he wrote about that in more detail to the Corinthians: ‘Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ (2 Cor. 10:5)
And what does all of that mean. Check out this commentary. ‘Casting down imaginations (not accepting the devils thoughts, suggestions, visions) is a spiritual weapon that you must use to be victorious over the enemy. You must learn to actively fight to maintain God’s vision for you. You must only accept imaginations (thoughts) that line up with the Word of God.’ Yes my people, let’s remember that this earthly life is an ongoing battle with the devil, who fights with spiritual weapons, but we have already won the victory through Christ Jesus, we now only have to maintain it; not allow the wicked one to steal it back. And no, it’s not easy, but we have all the tools and weapons to do it, if we so choose.
Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting the whole world know of our most wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Then there’s this proviso; if we endure right to the very end with Christ, that end will be even more glorious than we can either ask or imagine. So please, let’s use our God-given wisdom and plan to meet there nuh! Much LOVE!
…in Christ…we are all new creations…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
02 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a big posse, a difficult journey, a roof to sleep under, a single best friend, adventuresome, all kinds of evil, Anselm, aspires, basic amenities, be contented, be happy with what you have, betrayal, blessed, comfort zone, complain, contentment, desire to be rich, destruction, divine means, dog and pony track, drown men, eternal life, exit the world, faith, follow Christ's advice, food to eat, for your benefit, friends, fruitful, godliness, good things happen, gospel truth, great gain, greediness, greedy, Guide, hangers ons, higher the number, in time of need, inspires, interesting, internet connection, leader, lesser, life's basic necessities, LOVE, many sorrows, material wealth, meekness, misconception, missing out, more fun, negative things, patience, peace, perdition, pierced themselves, righteousness, ruin, seek first the kingdom of God, seeking for more, selfish, serve God and mammon, strayed from the faith, the Christian's life, the LOVE of money, the natrue of our society, think positive, Timothy, walking hand in hand with Jesus, we brought nothing, we can carry out nothing, wisdom, you can count on
1 Timothy 6:6. But godliness with contentment is great gain.
All right friends and family, here we go again; one more time around the dog and pony track called Life. (smile) And though it’s oftimes a difficult journey, it certainly is an interesting and adventuresome one, made even more interesting and fruitful if you’re walking hand in hand with Jesus, the great Saviour of the world!
Wow! What an awesome guide and leader He is! And if you’re not walking with Him, then unfortunately you’re missing out on the best part of this earthly life, and consequently the eternal life too. So please check Him out nuh. You’ll be surprised at what He has to offer…and it’s all for your benefit.
And with it being Saturday, let’s turn to some quotes of this past week from our friend Anselm, who genuinely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And we’ll begin with the shortest one: ‘When you think positive good things happen.’
And that’s generally true. It doesn’t mean that you won’t have any negative things happen, but they will be mostly positive, since what the mind focuses on, is what generally comes to pass.
And like Anselm was in a friend seeking mood this week (smile) as he offers these two quotes on the subject. ‘There is a misconception among people that the higher the number of friends you have, the more fun you’ll have. The fact is the lesser friends you have, the lesser you have to deal with.
Trust me; it doesn’t matter how many friends you have, all that matters is how many friends you can count upon when you are in need.’ And ‘Having a single best friend is better than having ten random friends who aren’t going to be with you for long.’
Oh my people, how many of us have suffered betrayal and rejection by those we thought were friends eh? We all have, because it’s a human frailty. The wisdom lies in having a few staunch and genuine friends you can call on in times of need. A big posse is not a set of friends, but a group of hangers’ ons. And remember the corollary to the above; to have genuine friends, you must also be a genuine friend.
Then there is this last one: ‘You are living in your comfort zone, having an active Internet connection, food to eat, TV to watch and a roof to sleep under. Do remember that even if you have only these four basic amenities, you are richer than 75% of the world’s population. Be happy for what you have, but don’t settle for it.’
I would say that you are better off than more than 90 percent of the world, and you shouldn’t just be happy, but be darm happy and contented and feel extremely blessed, because there are so many others in the world struggling and suffering with much less than you have.
But unfortunately the nature of our society is that the more we have, the more we complain about the few things we don’t have. We never seem to value sufficiently the things we do have, always seeking for more, when we don’t even have the time or the resources to handle it. And it just results in a greedy and selfish society, of which we are the cream of the crop.
But Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy in our Bit should be the norm in our society. ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? It surely is! When we have God first place in our lives we’re not selfish or greedy, because He induces a peace and contentment in our souls regardless of our particular situations.
And the verse following our Bit highlights the ridiculousness of fighting and killing ourselves over the material wealth of the world. ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.’ (1 Tim.6:7)
And the scholars offer this very interesting explanation of that verse. ‘6:7. And it is certain we can carry nothing out (or, “because we are unable to carry anything out”): Man enters the world at birth possessing nothing, in order to teach him that he will exit the world in the same manner – taking nothing with him. This is a divine means of showing man that since material wealth is relatively insignificant, he should pursue the important things mentioned in verse 11.’
And those things include ‘righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience and meekness.’ Now here is this very seminal verse as Bruh Paul continues: ‘And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content.’ (1 Tim.6:8)
The scholars explain: 6:8. This verse prevents the wrong understanding of verse 7, that material possessions have no place in the Christian’s life. By figure of speech food and raiment stand for all of life’s basic necessities. These are all the believer needs, and having these he can be content.’
However, contentment is not a mainstay of our current society. We are more apt to follow this agenda that Bruh Paul talks about. ‘But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:9-10)
Ah mih people, the desperate seeking after money and the material possessions of this world only cause more problems than they solve. So please, let’s stop it nuh, and follow Christ’s wise advice: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:32) That’s all there is to it! Much LOVE!
…you cannot serve God and mammon (money)…at the same time… (Matt.6:24b)
13 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be of good courage, be strong and of a good courage, believed to see, Bible promise, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, captivated by, Christians, competitive goals, confession, courage, defeated by, enthusiasm, erred, eternal life, faith, fight the good fight of faith, Financial Adviser, foolish, fountain, friend of Jesus, futile, goading competition, God's plan, godliness, greediness, he shall strengthen thine heart, I am the light of the world, I had fainted, in the land of the living, Jesus Christ, joyful, keep up with the Joneses, life's goal, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE of God, LOVE of Money, lure of the world, lustful pleasures, material possessions, meekness, negatives, One Year Book of Bible promises, patience, pierced themselves, positive spirit, rich, righteousness, rotting carcasses, Ruth Harms Calkin, seek first, share His love, spiritual life, spiritual realm, strain, strayed from the faith, stress, the beloved of God, the goodness of the Lord, the lack of money, the light of life, the lure of money, the root of all evil, this is the day the Lord has made, trials, tribulations, true believers, truthful word of God, Tuesday Mantra, unbelievers, wait on the Lord, walk in darkness, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom
Joshua 1:6a. Be strong and of a good courage…
Well friends, it’s Tuesday, the day after Monday. (smile) Hope you had a good Monday, but even if you didn’t, it’s time to let it go into the past where it belongs and greet today with new enthusiasm and faith, by declaring, ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.’ Yes my people, it’s the only way to keep a joyful, positive spirit in these end times.
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that’s ever so timely for many of us Christians, as well as unbelievers. It’s simply titled ‘Seek First.’
And it says: ‘O Lord How futile, how foolish To attempt to keep up with the Joneses On the gold-studded ladder of success. Even if we make it (Setting high, competitive goals) We awake one dismal morning To discover the Smiths have bypassed the Joneses So it starts again – the goading competition.
God, Your objective is far more rewarding. You want us to “keep up” with Your Plan For our individual lives. “Seek first the Kingdom of God” Is Your shining word to us. Forgive us for moments and days (Even months) When our LOVE of money Has exceeded our LOVE for You.
Please, God Be our Financial Advisor And deliver us from a thousand “if onlys.” May we never be defeated By the lack of money Or captivated by the lure of it.’
Oh my brethren, in this ever more greedy, selfish and competitive world, that is the path a lot of us are following; the lure of money and material possessions. But our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ has in no uncertain terms told us: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Yes friends, if we first seek the spiritual realm, then the material will be forthcoming to us. And the Bible promise used for that poem is one we know all too well, but still neglect to follow properly. Listen up to these monumental words of Bruh Paul to Timothy.
‘And having food and raiment (clothing) let us be therewith content. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds) of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many arrows.’ (1 Tim.6:8-10)
Oh my people, the world is strewn with the rotting carcasses of so many of us who have made being rich in money and material things our life’s goal. It’s certainly not a goal that’s worth striving after because it causes too much stress and strain and invites too many negatives in our lives.
However, as Bruh Paul continues to Timothy: ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things: and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, where unto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) with a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Yeh friends, as true believers in Christ, that is the path we ought to follow. But unfortunately, the lure of the world, its material possessions, and lustful pleasures are so strong that we can easily get caught up in them. That’s why our Bit is so important in these times of much agitation. ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’
It doesn’t have many words, but it says a whole lot in terms of our spiritual life. Without strength and courage we won’t be able to withstand the attacks of the evil one. And that spiritual strength and courage can only be gotten by having the truthful word of God dwelling securely in our souls.
As Jesus said: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) Oh my people, are we walking in the light of Jesus or the darkness of the world? For all our sakes, I sincerely hope it’s the latter, otherwise crapaud smoke we pipe (ours will be a very rough landing).
Now let’s look at a scripture that encourages us to seek the Lord’s strength. And nobody exemplified that more than Bruh David. Hear him: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.’ (Ps.27:13-14)
Bruh David was anointed king of Israel in his teenaged years, but never got to sit upon the throne until many years later, after going through many trials and tribulations not of his own making. He only succeeded by staying strong in his faith in the God of his forefathers. And that’s the only way we will succeed too my friends.
Now let’s go home by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with lots of conviction and passion, because, without conviction and passion in our lives we are just like the living dead.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
So having said all of that, let’s now go out and behave like the beloved of God and share the LOVE of our friend Jesus with the rest of the world. That’s wisdom of untold dimensions! Much LOVE!
…the only fountain of true strength…is that which is found in Jesus…
24 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accumulation of things, acknowledge God, as we forgive our debtors, awesome power, be content, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, Commit thy way to the Lord, contentment, Cousin Sol, deceitful thoughts and attitudes, deliver us from evil, desire to be rich, destruction, don't overwork, erred from the faith, esteem, eternal life, faith, favours, fight the good fight of faith, fly away as an eagle, focus, food and clothing, for thine is the kingdom, forbearance, forgive us our debts, forsake friends and families, forsake God, fortunes, give us our daily bread, goal of our lives, godliness, godly and righteous service, goodness, gospel truth, great gain, greediness, hallowed be thy name, headaches, heavenly rewards, holiness, Jesus, judgement, justice, lead us not into temptation, light, lost fortunes, LOVE, loving kindness, made fortunes, majesty, man of God, material wealth, meekness, meritorious benefits, moth and rust destroy, Our Father, pain, patience, perdition, physical riches, praise and thanks, priorities, Psalm 37, raison d'etre, respect, reverential awe, rewards, rewards for faithful service, riches have wings, righteousness., root of all evil, ruin, shun money, significant teaching of jesus, slaves to riches, snare, sorrows, stupidity, supernatural sight, teaching of Jesus, temptation, tender mercy, the LOVE of money, the power and the glory, thieves break in, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, Timothy, treasures in heaven, treasures on earth, true motives of our hearts, trust in the Lord, where your treasure is there is your heart, wings, wisdom
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal.
Aye mih Friends, it’s Thursday, what’s new, what’s on the agenda for today eh? I know that all of us have lofty plans for the day, but just remember, for them to succeed, we have to commit these plans to the Lord, link them with His plan and will for our lives.
As Bruh David so wisely advises in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps.37:5-6)
But first things first my brethren; let’s give our wonderful God a mighty shout of praise and thanks for causing us to see another marvelous day here on earth, for without His goodness and tender mercy, His LOVING-kindness and forbearance, that wouldn’t be possible.
So please pray with me, this prayer that Jesus taught us. ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:9-13)
Yes my people, it’s always best to acknowledge our heavenly Father before we begin asking Him for this and that. It just shows our respect, our reverential awe for His holiness, His spectacular majesty and awesome power, and that we’re not merely interested in whatever good things He might have to offer us.
For also remember that He can see, and does read the true motives of our hearts, so any hypocrisy we try to hide from Him WILL BE exposed to His supernatural sight. Consequently, I don’t understand how so many of us still come to God with deceitful thoughts and attitudes, thinking to fool Him. Absolute stupidity!
Anyway, that brings us to our Bit, a very significant teaching of Jesus. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21)
Oh Friends, what a very instructive and hopefully convincing passage of scripture, that all of us will sincerely and confidently take note of!
And the scholars have this to say about those verses. ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term treasures implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven).
The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather of rewards for faithful service, as illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’
Yes my brethren, unlike the world’s theory that we should aggrandize ourselves with the worthless physical riches of the earth, Jesus is advising us to store up the favours and rewards for godly and righteous service in heaven.
And it’s a proven fact that wherever the choice things of our heart are located, that’s where our attention will be focused. So if the treasures of the world hold the place of highest esteem in our lives, then that’s where our focus, our priorities, will lie.
However, if the rewards and riches found in heaven speak more to us, then it’s on heaven and heavenly things that our focus and priorities will be trained.
And though the riches of the world are nice to have, running behind them, making ourselves slaves to collecting them is not a very wise idea. For that path only brings immense headaches and pain, in the long run causing us to forsake our friends and families, and most importantly our God.
Now let’s look at some scriptures that support our Bit. And the first comes from the pen of wise Cousin Sol, where he unequivocally declares: ‘Labour not (do not overwork) to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? (Will you cause your eyes to fly on it, and it is not?) For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.’ (Prov.23:4-5)
And who should know the effect of riches my people, better than the richest man ever eh? And it is the gospel truth, as we can see from the many who have laboured long and hard to attain material wealth, then lost it all, in no time at all.
And there are also many stories of people who have made and lost several earthly fortunes in a lifetime. So it’s essentially easy to amass earthly riches, but the problem is keeping them.
And we’ll end today with those wise, famous and memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content.
But they that will (desire to) be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things (shun a LOVE of money); and follow after (pursue) righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:6-12)
Oh my people, that passage of scripture says it all! So please, I implore us, let’s all look seriously today at our attitude towards material wealth, and wisely place it at the nether end of our priorities, not make it the goal of our lives.
Instead, let’s make the accumulation of heavenly rewards our raison d’etre, our reason for living. Now that’s the wisdom of everlasting life! Much LOVE!
…earthly wealth can easily be lost…and in any case we leave it all behind…when we go to collect our heavenly rewards…so why doggedly pursue it eh…
15 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: amassing materail wealth, arms of the wicked shall be broken, better is a little with righteousness, blessed, Bruh Paul, Christ has no hands feet or tongues but ours, Christ is depending on us, clothing, contentment, destruction, dr robert h schuller, erred from the faith, faithful servants, fired employees, food, friends, God-given talents, godliness, godliness with contentment, gospel truth, great gain, great revenues without justice, greediness, harmful lusts, have-nots, heavenly bank account, Holy Tuesday, images, indisputable truth, injustice, LOVE, material riches, negative side, poor and suffering, positive side, positive working, power of the holy spirit, reconciliation, reflections of Almighty God, repentance, reverence of God, riches of the wicked, righteous man, righteousness., root of all evil, ruin, saints, share with others, shareholders, snare, snowflakes falling from heaven, social justice, sorrows, spiritual riches, stand strong, tell the world the good news, temptation, the Lord upholds the righteous, the LOVE of money, unfair practices, We can do all things through Christ, we can do nothing without christ, wisdom of the ages
Proverbs 16:8. Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).
Well hello there mih people! A good Holy Tuesday morning to all you blessed saints out there in Christendom; true images and reflections of Almighty God!
Yes Friends, we are indeed all of that! So please let’s make full use of it and not waste the talents and whatever else the Lord has given us to share with others.
And to help guide us in that respect, here are some true and most useful words from the Hour of Power Devotional by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. I’m not sure if I’ve shared them before, but even so, they are still very relevant to these times.
Listen up as Dr. Schuller reminds us that: ‘Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead us on the way. He has no tongues but our tongues to tell us how He died. He has no help but our help to bring us to His side.’
And that’s the indisputable truth my brethren! Christ is depending on us, His faithful saints and servants, to tell the world the good news of His story and bring it to repentance and reconciliation with Him.
What a blessed assignment, though not an easy one, for there will be lots of obstacles placed in our way. But if we’re serious about doing the job, then Christ will enable us through the power of His Holy Spirit to stand strong and do it.
Just remember that we cannot do it without Him, as He so shrewdly reminds us when talking to the disciples about the vine and the branches: ‘for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5b)
But by the same token, as Bruh Paul reminds un in Philippians 4: ‘I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13)
And with all that solid stuff now under our belts, let’s turn to our Bit, another morsel of everlasting truth. ‘Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).’
And there can be no doubting of that fact my Friends! Why? Because it percolates in every area and aspect of our lives and that of our society. We see it in homes where there’s great wealth but little true godliness. We also see it in businesses, where injustice is booming and very flagrant these days.
We lay of hundreds of ordinary workers to save some money, while flagrantly increasing the stipends of those at the top of the food chain by humongous amounts, without any thought for the welfare of those being put out of work.
The social justice that cries out for those fired employees is certainly not being taken into account. Instead it is all centred on the supposed bottom line, shareholders interest and the rest of the garbage and distorted truth that the captains of industry spout to support their unfair practices.
Oh Friends, I just went upstairs to see the duchess off to work and my heart almost stopped on me because I was greeted by snowflakes falling gently from heaven. And not simply wet snow but the kind that seems to last. Oh Lord eh!
Earlier on when I came down the streets were simply wet with rain. And we’ve been having such nice warm temps for the last little while! It’s supposed to have a high of just one degree today. Mama Mia!
But as we’ve said above, though it might be a tad inconvenient, we can handle it all with Christ’s help. So let’s not look at it from the negative but the positive side.
Now let’s check out some scripture which corroborate our Bit. Cousin Sol himself also stated it thus: ‘Better is little with the fear (reverence) of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.’ (Prov.15:16)
And the scholars explain that as: ’15:16. Spiritual riches are better than material riches.’
Gospel truth Friends! But try telling that to the legions of poor and suffering around the world nuh!
Meanwhile Bruh David puts it this way in Psalm 37; the true state of the wicked. ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.’ (Ps.37:16-17)
More gospel truth my people! But tell that to the wicked rich nuh, whose only aim seems to be amassing more and more wealth at the expense of the have-nots.
And we’ll end with a passage from 1 Timothy, where Bruh Paul warns: ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content.
But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all (all kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have erred from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:6-11)
Oh Friends, I can’t say it any better than that! I can just try and encourage us to take those words to heart and put them to positive working in our lives, for they indeed convey the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
…why do we foolishly insist on amassing material wealth…when it causes all sorts of evil problems…and does nothing for our heavenly bank account…
SCRIP-BITS 